Loving You
by Optimistic-Pessimistz
Summary: This fic is in reply to Wowie's fic request, HanaFujii (Non-Yaoi) if you want to know. Personally... it is going to take a very, very long time...
1. Act 1, Scene 1

**Title:** Loving You

**Author:** Seraph_Kirin 

**Pairing/s:** HanaFujii, brief mentions of YasuHaru

**Rating:** - 

**Genre:** Multi-Chaptered 

**Chapter:** 1/? 

**Email:** seraph_kirin@hotmail.com

**Disclaimers:** All disclaimers apply. 

**Author's Notes:** This is in answer to Wowie's fic request. Please note that this story contains a great deal of sugar. People who are strongly allergic to sugar are advised to keep away from this fic.

Okay... This is towards the end of Sakuragi's second year and Fujii's gotten herself waist-long hair. Yasuda and Haruko are in love... Sorry, YouHaru fans... but I simply cannot imagine a nice guy like Youhei with a girl like Haruko... no offence intended to either character. Other than that, Fujii is going to be the one "attacking" Sakuragi for his love... (hmm...) 

There are going to be only very brief mentions (or perhaps, none at all) of the team so don't hope for much...

Anyway, this fic is mainly from Hanamichi's POV (not 1st person though...) and Fujii's thoughts are basically not discussed here... OOC character warning! This is going to be one loooooong~ fic...

And so, ladies and gentlemen, on with the fic!

[_Italics_] - Hanamichi's thoughts... 

**_Italics_** - Some other person's thoughts (don't worry, I won't make it very confusing...) Only for the babble club, will this be Italics, ok?

**Bold** - Emphasis...

_Italics_ - Quote

____________________________________________________________________

**Act 1, Scene 1: Telling You I Love You**

____________________________________________________________________

-^*^--^*^-

_Everyone has his or her own, private little moments of impulsiveness..._

_Have you ever had the experience of while knowing that you should never ever fall for that singular person... but yet your heart, betrayer that it be, offers itself on a silver platter to that exact same person...? _

-^*^--^*^-

Shohoku High, 12 pm, grass area outside of class...

This had to be the worst day of his life.

No, scrap that.

This **was** the worst day of his life.

Why, you might ask. Well then, let's see...

One, he finally found out for certain that his favorite girl and his team-mate, Yasuda were together.

That wasn't exactly the problem though. He'd been prepared for it ever since he recognized the changing vibes between the said couple.

Two, he'd finally recognized himself as a coward.

Nope. That wasn't the core of the problem either.

Three, he was moaning over the things he should have done, should have said, should have...

Scrap that. At this rate, we'll never get to what was exactly on his mind.

Actually, what was on his mind was a blend of all the above factors together.

He regretted not having told Haruko his feelings first. He regretted his own innate fear at being rejected yet again, this time by a girl he dearly adored. He was disgusted at his own cowardice. 

He couldn't understand himself.

He'd felt happy for Haruko. How could he not? He adored the girl... and had wanted her for his own but he was happy that she found someone she liked. Who couldn't be? Unhappy as he was at the revelation, he still wanted the best for her. Irregardless of wha would happen to his existence in her life.

He'd felt happy for Yasuda. Heck, the entire team had. Even though Yasuda had been casting him a few... okay, **a lot**, of worried looks at what he thought of the senior's relationship with the assistant manager.

And yet...

And yet...

[_K'sou. Why can't I... why can't I stop thinking about this?_] Sakuragi's head struck out viciously against the wall.

The Sakuragi Gundam, except for Yohei, used to his uncertain moods at this time, had wisely left the talking part to Yohei **and would continue to avoid the red head like the plague until Yohei gave the signal**. The said boy however, was currently, and very nonchalantly, munching on his lunch, prudently avoiding commenting on his red headed friend's actions.

Yohei winced as the red head banged his against the innocent wall again. Privately, he reckoned if the wall could talk, it would be groaning in pain now. 

It wasn't that he didn't understand Hanamichi. Sometimes he felt that the red head was chasing after a lost cause. He couldn't understand why the red head **just had** to go for Haruko... when there was another petite brunette nearby so willing to give him all he needed for very little.

Sneaking a look at the seemingly deranged red head, Yohei continued chewing his food, taking care in his scrutiny. After all, you never knew what a certain Sakuragi Hanamichi might do to you. **_Sometimes I don't understand Sakuragi. Why can't he see that Fujii left her hair long because she heard he had a penchant for girls with long hair? Why can't he see that she's been imitating Haruko so closely in hopes that he would notice her? Why can't he just see all that?_**

Yohei heaved a sigh. _The affairs of the human heart are ones not to be meddled with indeed..._

Wryly, as he watched the said red head finally slump down in exhaustion, **_and the same goes for people who stand by certain maniac red heads trying to reason with them._**

Briefly, he wondered what the cost of the nearest mental institution would be like. With friends like Hanamichi, prevention was definitely better than cure.

A movement at the corner of his eye caught his attention. **_What the...?_**

A word of welcome stopped itself as a petite brunette (sound familiar? ^_^) made her way towards the two... actually, one conscious raven-haired boy... and one ostensibly oblivious red headed boy.

Yohei noted the anxiety in her manner, wondering what could be the cause of it.

The girl cast a short glance at the unmindful red head and pulled Yohei aside. "Anou, Mito-kun..." another hasty gaze at the red head, "... would you mind if I speak to Sakuragi-kun for a moment?"

Yohei studied the girl countenance. A faint, and presently deepening blush was on her cheeks. It was really no question to why the girl wanted to speak to the outwardly obnoxious red head alone.

Yohei smiled. "No problem. I just finished my lunch anyway, and this bozo here..." he thumbed a finger towards Sakuragi, "...isn't much of a lunch companion anyway."

Straightening up, he gathered his things, taking care to avoid waking Sakuragi to the world. After all, it wasn't every day that a girl gathered up enough courage to confess her love for the lovable, but absurdly irritating, Hanamichi anyway.

Walking near the corner that inevitably led him to his classroom, Yohei paused for a moment, turning back to meet the apprehensive eyes of the girl. 

"Good luck!" He mouthed, before waving and disappearing round the corner. 

The above-mentioned girl flushed a deep red. She hadn't been prepared for the fact that Yohei had seen through her act. Taking in a few deep breaths to calm down, she walked towards the red head, wondering how to announce her presence to him.

As it turned out, she didn't have to.

Hanamichi suddenly jumped to his feet, shouting "Okay, that's what I'll do!" nearly knocking her over before he noticed her presence.

"Go-Gomen, Fujii-san," the red head stuttered, helping her up, "I- I didn't see you coming."

"Iie... It doesn't matter, Sakuragi-kun..." The girl hesitated, unsure.

Sakuragi looked around the area. "Anou, Fujii-san, did you happen to see Yohei anywhere?"

"...He just left." The girl closed her eyes. She had made her decision.

"Then I better get going then. See you-" Fujii held on to his arm. "Fu-Fujii-san...?"

"Sakuragi-kun... I have something to tell you..." It was the point of no return for Fujii.

"And that is...?"

"I love you, Sakuragi-kun. Ever since the first day I saw you."

-^*^--^*^-

**Author's Notes:** Ahahahahahahahahaha... (maniacal laughter abound) Cliff Hanger! How would Sakuragi react? Find out in the next episode!

Gomenz, Wowie, if this chapter has been too boring and predictable... I'm not a person for romance... (blushes)

Anyway, flame me as you will. No promises on when I'll update this but I'll do it before the end of next week latest, 'k?


	2. Act 1, Scene 2

**Title:** Loving You

**Author:** Seraph_Kirin 

**Pairing/s:** HanaFujii, brief mentions of YasuHaru

**Rating:** - 

**Status:** On Going

**Genre:** Multi-Chaptered 

**Chapter:** 2/? 

**Email:** seraph_kirin@hotmail.com

**Disclaimers:** All disclaimers apply. 

**Archive:** None. It'll be posted on fanfiction.net and fandomination.net though so if you want it, you can take it for your site. Just tell me first okay? (although I seriously doubt that anyone would take this anyway...)

**Author's Notes:** This is in answer to Wowie's fic request. Please note that this story contains a great deal of sugar... and angst, now that I think about it... People who are strongly allergic to sugar and bitterness contrasting so "dramatically" are advised to keep away from this fic.

Okay... I think I've pretty much made up my mind on the chapters already: 3 Acts, but I still dunno how many scenes to do though... So I guess this might (and most probably) extend beyond 5 chapters... Toldya it's gonna be a long ficcy...

Short synopsis: Fujii just confessed her love for Hanamichi. So what will the poor redhead do?

Small eyesight test: How many "faces" can you see in my setting dividers? Setting dividers are those little lines before and after I change the format and/or setting of my boring little story...

And so, ladies and gentlemen, on with the fic!

[Plain] - Author's shameless self-insert. Dun worry about mixing this up with Hanamichi's thoughts... It'll be differentiated enough... trust me... ^_^

[_Italics_] - Hanamichi's thoughts... 

**_Italics_** - Some other person's thoughts (don't worry, I won't make it very confusing...) Only for the babble club, will this be Plain, ok?

**Bold** - Emphasis... Italics for babble...

_Italics_ - Quote/flashback to other people's speech in the past...

____________________________________________________________________

**Act 1, Scene 2: I Know That I Should Just...**

____________________________________________________________________

^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^

_Unreciprocated love is one of the cruellest forms of love. _

^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^

Sakuragi stared out of the window, his eyes vacant.

Somehow, the incident that had just passed only proved to make him feel worse.

He avoided meeting Youhei's questioning eyes when he returned to the classroom. 

He didn't think he could meet his best friend's eyes then, given that his heart and mind were both half-inclined to do what could be the cruelest thing he had done to a girl before.

^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^

_FLASHBACK_

"I love you, Sakuragi-kun. Ever since the first day I saw you."

Hanamichi stared at his confessor of love. "Fu- Fujii-san..." He didn't really know what to say to the girl.

The girl gave him a wry, sad smile. "Sakuragi-kun... I know you love Haruko-chan... and I know there's hardly a chance for me to capture your heart..."

[_You got that right! So why are you even trying?_] The redhead's first thoughts embarrassed him greatly. The sheer meanness of the thoughts had been something he had thought himself incapable of. 

For a moment he contemplated just brushing the matter off lightly, but being the big softhearted pile of mush that he was... he found himself unable of such cruelty. Say nothing of the fact that he'd been rejected himself **50 times** before... that sort of heartache was something he certainly did not wish upon anyone... **especially** the girl who was standing in front of him waiting for him to give some sort of a reply.

He thought back on his history with Fujii. 

So far Fujii had been the only girl daring enough (other than Matsui, but that's another matter...) to even talk to him, given her innately timid nature. He distantly remembered the incident in which Fujii, intimidated by him as she was, had garnered enough courage to tell him her feelings about the match directly. 

[_Yes..._] Sakuragi's thoughts had drifted off the subject at hand. [_That was... what? After the first practice match we had with Ryonan... K'sou, why am I thinking about this? That isn't exactly answering her question, is it?_]

"Sakuragi-kun?" The girl's tentative voice broke into his reverie.

Sakuragi's attention returned to the girl still waiting for his reply. Seemingly to have taken his silence the wrong way, Fujii went on to say hurriedly, "I won't force you to love me or anything... I just, "she hesitated before rushing on, "want to have a shot at winning your heart. So can you please go out with me? I just... I just want to see if... if..." she stopped, her blush so vivid, her fear of rejection so stark that it choked her sentence of midway.

The redhead's heart tightened. How could he not have noticed? Fujii had been mimicking Haruko's every move ever since when? The middle of their first year? 

He couldn't exactly pinpoint when her infatuation with him had started... and when she started growing her hair and wearing it **exactly** the same way Haruko wore it. 

How could he have missed the signs that were so evident?

_"Hanamichi I swear, you can be so dense to the absolutely obvious at times."_

He flinched. 

That had been Ryocchin. When the redhead questioned him on it, Ryocchin had simply shook his head and sigh impatiently. Now that he thought about it, he'd heard the other members of the team make similar remarks before... Mitsui, Kogure, Ayako... and the list went on.

[_But the fact remains that I still love Haruko-chan... I can't do this to her by accepting her proposal while knowing that I love someone else..._] Sakuragi faced the girl, his mind made up. "Fu-"

The girl cut him off, obviously sensing rejection. "Sakuragi-kun, I give you some time to rethink my proposal... how long you take doesn't matter... when you make up your mind on it, come look for me and tell it to my face..." 

The girl looked up at him, her eyes wet with tremulous emotion. She gave him a shaky smile. "I would prefer it if you rejected me directly... Otherwise, I will never be convinced that I don't have a chance with you..." 

She gave him another quivering smile. "...And it would... **just maybe**, be what my heart needs to completely let go of you..." 

Saying thus, she turned tail and ran.

_END OF FLASHBACK_

[**Seraph:** ^_^;; Long flashback, ne?

**Devil:** *biting Seraph's head anime-style* I told you to let me do it but no! You just had to do it, right?

**Seraph:** *throws Devil off her* But you'll just bash Hana and Fujii up!

**Devil:** ^___^ But that's the whole idea.

**Seraph:** ^_^;;]

^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^

So here he was, stuck with a problem in which he could see no way out of hurting the girl who'd given him, in her own little way, so much of her heart and time.

He thought back to the heartbreaking way Fujii had said she loved him in. 

He thought back to how tearful she was when she'd said she would wait, no matter what his decision was.

[_K'sou!_] The more he thought back on the incident, the more convinced he became of the fact that if he rejected her, she would attain something more than just a simple heartbreak. 

He would utterly devastate her if that came to pass.

And he wasn't willing to be the one do that to her.

_"I would prefer it if you rejected me directly..."_

He groaned. [_Fujii-san, do you know what a quandary you have left me in?_] He seriously needed something hard to bang his head against. And no, his desk wasn't hard enough for what he had in mind.

[_K'sou. K'sou. K'sou. K'SOU!_] He scratched his head violently. He really couldn't see, or think of, anyway that he could avoid hurting her by rejecting her. [_Kami-sama, why did this have to happen to me of all people? Someone up there must have a sick sense of humour..._]

Hanamichi smiled rather derisively at himself. [_The girl I love doesn't love me... no..._] He amended his thought slightly. [_... doesn't know that I love her. The girl I hardly take notice of loves me so much... And me? Me? I just have to remain hung up over the girl who doesn't even know that I love her, don't I?_]

He buried his head in his arms. [_F***... why does life have to **always** be this complex anyway...?_]

^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^

After basketball practice, 7 pm, in the locker room...

Hanamichi cursed violently under his breath. Forcing himself to calm down, the redhead managed to keep himself from punching his locker and damaging it for the sixth time that year. 

He'd been out of form the entire day, thinking about what to do about the matter with Fujii. The girl in question however, chose to skip watching basketball practice by telling Haruko that she wasn't feeling well.

On top of that, he'd just had the luck of having Akagi coming back to supervise the team (now under Miyagi) for practice, say nothing of the fan slaps that he received from Ayako, the kicks from Miyagi when he refused to follow Ayako's instructions, the fights that he always, and inevitably, got into with one certain irritating pest of a Kitsune... and the list went on.

"Oi, Hanamichi." The said redhead turned. "Why were you so distracted during practice today?"

"Ryocchin..." 

"Is your back acting up again? I didn't think that the Tensai would be so prone to injuries." The seemingly scornful tone belied a deep concern for the redhead.

"Missy..." 

The redhead took in the concern in their eyes for him. Pondering for a moment if he should indulge himself in confessing his love life to the seniors, he quickly decided on the negative, feeling that this was something he would have to figure out himself. He shook his head. "Nothing."

The seniors exchanged looks. "Are you sure?" Miyagi prodded gently.

"Our ears are all yours, y'know?" Mitsui kidded lightly, putting his hands behind his ears and pushing them forward for dramatic effect.

Sakuragi had to smile at the lame joke. "Really. It's nothing much."

The seniors remained clearly unconvinced. "Alright... if you say so..."

"Just remember we'll be here for you if you need us ok?" Miyagi smiled warmly at the redhead.

Hanamichi returned the smile, grateful that they had not pressed the matter further. He more-than-appreciated the fact that they had noticed his problems at practice today. "I know." Then almost as an afterthought, "Arigatou."

"Then, ja ne, Hanamichi."

"Ja."

^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^

Hanamichi's face remained pensive under the street lamps that dotted the walkway here and there.

Youhei, who had surprisingly stayed back to watch him finish practice, threw glances at the red head that told him he was worried about him.

It wasn't that the redhead did not appreciate the fact that Youhei was concerned. But best friend or not, Hanamichi still felt sometimes that there were some things he couldn't bear to bring up with Youhei, given the latter's practicality and overly-logical way of thinking at times. 

Even as they walked in companionable silence (which was rare, even for them) Hanamichi could envision what would happen if he spoke of the dilemma he was in. For example, it would go something like this:

**Hanamichi:** Ne, Youhei, I need to tell you something.

**Youhei:** What?

**Hanamichi:** Fujii-san, Haruko's friend, just confessed her love for me-

**Youhei:** -And you are wondering what you should do about it, seeing that you are in love with her best friend, right?

**Hanamichi:** ...

**Youhei:** It's as obvious as the nose on your face.

**Hanamichi:** She said she wanted to go out with me and said she wait for me no matter what...

**Youhei:** [after a while] well, go out with her!

**Hanamichi:** [looks at Youhei in horror] I can't do that! That would be-

**Youhei:** -betraying your love for Haruko, right?

**Hanamichi:** ...

**Youhei:** Seriously Hanamichi, if you still thought that you had a chance with Haruko, then why are you even contemplating about accepting the proposal?

**Hanamichi:** [blushes furiously] I'm not!

**Youhei:** [pointedly] you are.

**Hanamichi:** ...

**Youhei:** [sighs and pats Hanamichi on the back] Fujii's a very nice girl. So give her a chance, ne Hanamichi? Who knows you might find that you can learn to love her?

**Hanamichi:** ...

Yep, that was extremely Youhei-like. He'd always, okay, while not always, **most of the time**, championed the underdog. 

And in this case, Fujii was the underdog. 

So talking to Youhei was completely out of the question.

He needed someone to lay the facts out before him clearly. 

Someone who was not biased or, in this case, knew Fujii.

Coming to the intersection where the two boys had to part ways, Hanamichi reluctantly walked towards his usual path home.

"Hanamichi!" The redhead turned halfway. Youhei smiled slightly. "Give Fujii a chance to show you how much she cares!"

[**Seraph:** ^_^;; He's doing a lot of turning today, isn't he?]

Hanamichi fell to the ground anime-style. [_How did he-?_]

"Like I said before, both of you (in this case, referring to Fujii and Hanamichi) have it written all over your faces!" 

"Youhei, you!!" The redhead got up and rushed towards the raven-headed boy.

Youhei laughed and wisely ran down the street to his home.

"Ch..." The redhead smiled. "That Youhei..."

But it felt good, he had to admit, having a friend whom he did not have to explain his every thought to. 

His smile faded however, as his mind returned to the Fujii problem.

^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^

Walking across a park on his way home, he paused and decided to sit down at one of the swings at the playground, deeming his house unsuitable for ponderings of such a sort.

[**Seraph:** What?! I didn't want to write that! How did that come out?

**Devil:** *knocks Seraph unconscious* Now you know... too bad you're out like a light though... ^___^]

The playground looked rather desolate in the moonlight, the lamps only lighting it up in certain places. The November chill was in the air and the influence of autumn was predominant no matter where his gaze fell upon.

All of a sudden, Hanamichi felt an aching loneliness in his heart. The silence, the isolated feeling of the park around him... All this enhanced the painful feeling of his heart squeezing itself into a compact, miniscule box of some sort. 

For one brief, whimsical moment, he thought he was going to cry but he did not.

He could not.

[_K'sou! What am I doing here in the first place?_] Hanamichi dusted his pants and got up to leave. However, a familiar voice stopped him in his tracks even before he could continue on his way home.

"Sakuragi Hanamichi?"

Hanamichi lifted his eyes to meet those of another boy's.

"Sendoh...?"

TBC...

^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^

**Author's Notes 2:** Cliff Hanger!!!! 

**Seraph:** [reads what Devil typed] What is Sendoh doing here? I never intended on him entering this fic! [tears hair out]

**Devil:** [watches in mild amusement] Well, **I** intended him to... and he is. ^_^

**Seraph:** [screams] How could you, Devil? You were supposed to be **my** alter ego, not the other way around! [tears more hair out]

**Devil:** ^_^ [smiles angelically]

**Seraph:** [sobs] this fic is going nowhere at all!

Anyway, like it? Hate it? Just flame me. It'll be easier. R & R! ^_^


	3. Act 1, Scene 3

**Title:** Loving You

**Author:** DEVIL_Kirin 

**Pairing/s:** HanaFujii, SenHana???, brief mentions of YasuHaru

**Rating:** - 

**Status:** On-Going

**Genre:** Multi-Chaptered 

**Chapter:** 3/? 

**Email:** seraph_kirin@hotmail.com

**Disclaimers:** All disclaimers apply. 

**Archive:** None. It will be posted on fanfiction.net and fandomination.net though so if you want it, you can take it for your site. Just tell me first okay? (although I seriously doubt that anyone would take this anyway...)

**Author's Notes:** This is in answer to Wowie's fic request. Please note that this story contains a great deal of sugar... and angst, now that I think about it... People who are strongly allergic to sugar and bitterness contrasting so "dramatically" are advised to keep away from this fic.

**Short synopsis:** Hanamichi met Sendoh at the park near his house. Will the Hentai/Smiley teach Hanamichi something about chances or will the Hentai/Smiley grab the chance to make a SenHana?

Therefore, so, ladies and gentlemen, on with the fic!

[Plain] - Author's shameless self-insert. Dun worry about mixing this up with Hanamichi's thoughts... It'll be differentiated enough... trust me... ^_^

[_Italics_] - Hanamichi's thoughts... 

**_Italics_** - Some other person's thoughts (don't worry, I won't make it very confusing...) Only for the babble club, will this be Plain, ok?

**Bold** - Emphasis... *CAPS* for babble

_Italics_ - Quote/flashback to other people's speech in the past...

S_K = Seraph_Kirin's Author Notes

D_K = What do you think? The One And Only Devil_Kirin, me, of course.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Act 1, Scene 3**

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^

_Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. _-Alfred, Lord Tennyson __

^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^

Sakuragi strode resolutely out of the classroom. The look on his face was warning enough for anyone who wanted to follow him, including his Gundam and Youhei.

Somehow he knew he would sorely regret what he had set out to do. By accepting Fujii's tentative proposal, he was merely setting the poor girl up for more pain.

It **was** an extremely cruel thing to do to a girl, to **any** girl, as a matter of fact, even to the likes of the Rukawa Shinetai.

Nevertheless, somehow, he just felt especially bad to be the one to do this to her.

**Especially** to her.

But after talking the matter over with Sendoh, his outright rejection of the idea had faded to a faintly guilty protest at the back of his mind.

Why the change? You ask.

Well, for the answer, we would have to go back to the night before... when our beloved redhead most coincidently met the ace of Ryonan High...

^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^_FLASHBACK_^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^

"Sendoh...?" The stunned tone in the redhead's voice did not go unnoticed.

The said boy nodded the head amiably. "Fancy meeting you here."

Of course, Sakuragi being Sakuragi... 

"Teme~! Sendoh! What are you doing here? Have you come to spy on the Tensai?!" Sakuragi watched the other boy approach him, uneasiness coiling deep down in his stomach.

Sendoh...?

Here at the Shohoku District?

What was he trying to pull?

As our redheaded boy fought with these questions, Sendoh took a seat in the swing next to him. "Sakuragi... what were you doing out here so late?"

"What the Tensai does is absolutely none of your business!" Sakuragi snapped reflexively.

"Ok... there's no need to get so testy y'know..." Sendoh held up his hands in surrender, not the least surprised by the boy's overly-defensive nature.

Then it hit Sakuragi. "Oi Smiley, what are **you** doing out here, near Shohoku, so late at night?"

Sendoh smiled sheepishly. 

[D_K: Wow! 3 'S' in a sentence!] 

Anyway, back to his smiling sheepishly... "Well..."

"I know! You were spying on the Tensai!" Sakuragi's oversized ego went up a notch.

Sendoh chuckled, amused. "As much as I would like to say I was... however, I wasn't."

Sakuragi scratched his head, puzzled. "Then what were you doing here? Watching the stars? It's not as if Ryonan does not have its own parks..."

Sendoh covered his mouth, but not before something that sounded suspiciously like a snicker came out.

"Teme~! What were you laughing at?"

"Nothing." Sendoh stifled his laughter, trying his very best not to offend the volatile red head. He **definitely** had no intentions of getting killed by Sakuragi **long** before his time. "Nothing." Meeting Hanamichi's disbelieving eyes, Sendoh smiled weakly, suppressing the urge to laugh in a way that will set a certain redhead on him. "Really."

Sakuragi sent the spiky headed boy one of his Talk-Or-You-Are-Dead looks. "Out with it. Why are you here tonight?"

"Why can't I be here?" Sendoh countered, smothering a grin in the process. "It's a free world, ain't it?"

Hanamichi gave the boy his patent Die-Rukawa-Die glares.  "Sendoh..."

Sendoh had to bite his lip to keep himself from laughing. As it was already, Sendoh was very close to being killed by a renegade redhead.

{D_K: Wait... *ponders for a moment* What will happen if I **do** set Hana on Sendoh?

Sendoh: D_K...

D_K: Yes? *looks innocently at him*

Sendoh: Don't even think about it.]

"Teme! Sendoh!" Sakuragi grabbed the said boy by his collar. "Will you tell me or not?"

"Only if you tell him your very own sob story." Sendoh counter-offered, very possibly at the face of death itself.

Sakuragi hesitated. He did need a confidant for his problem, didn't he? If he killed Sendoh now...

[D_K: Not that I would mind. I'll pair Hana up with Ru 'stead... There's no one to stop me anyway... *Mega EVIL Smile*

Hana: Oi! *waves arms wildly* Don't ***I*** have a choice in this?

D_K: *smiles kindly* No.

Youhei: Anou... isn't this supposed to be a HanaFujii? *scratches head thoughtfully*

D_K: Now that you remind me...

Youhei, Hana: *sweatdrop* Seraph... Please, please, **PLEASE** come back soon...]

...he wouldn't have anyone he knew well enough to help him with this... would he?

As extremely reluctant as he was to let go of the chance to smash in Sendoh's face... 

[D_K: *dodges rotten tomatoes thrown by Sendoh fans*]

...Sakuragi nevertheless let go of the said boy's collar, allowing him to settle back peaceably onto the swing.

"Well?" Sendoh prompted gently. "Aren't you gonna start? Or are you gonna wait for X'mas?"

Sakuragi heaved a sigh, wondering why in the eighteen hells did God decide to send him a smiley, of all the people in the world, to help him with his problem. Why would he choose to confide in Sendoh, when there were people who understood him more, like Youhei? Why indeed... Sakuragi snapped out of his reverie, realising that Sendoh was still waiting for him to start.

"Well... It's like this..."

30 minutes later...

A heavy pause hung in the air after Sakuragi finished his tale of woe. 

The self-proclaimed Tensai waited for Sendoh's response.

Nothing.

He waited some more, thinking that Sendoh needed more time to solve a complex problem such as this. [_After all, it's not as if he's had to sort out this sorta problem before..._ ]

[D_K: Dream on Sakuragi... Dream on.

Hana: What? The Tensai is obviously more popular than the baka Smiley!

Sendoh, D_K: ^_^;;;] 

[_...And this problem is one that even the Tensai cannot solve on his own, what say someone who is beneath the Tensai's ability?_]

Still nothing. Not even a single peep made its way out of Sendoh.

Sakuragi could've sworn that the park, quiet though it was, was making a whole lot more noise than Sendoh. He would've shaken Sendoh out of his trance, if not for the fact that he, the egoistical Tensai of Shohoku, was the one asking Sendoh, whom he had always considered beneath him, for advice.

Therefore, given the reality that he had little choice other than to wait for Sendoh to snap out of it, Sakuragi chose to wait some more.

*Birds chirping in the trees.* 

*Leaves rustling on the ground.*

Sakuragi's patience finally ran out. 

[D_K: I seriously didn't think he'd hold out this long though... Is the sky gonna fall anytime soon?

Hana: Teme! *lunges for Devil*

Youhei: Matte, Hana! *becomes a man-made obstacle in front of Hana*

Hana: Give me one reason why I should **not** kill her!

Youhei: Wowie-chan said she **would** prefer to have some yaoi sentiments in the story.

Hana: So?

Youhei: Specifically... Wowie-chan wanted a little RuHana and SenHana...

Hana: *turns into rock*

D_K: **Did** she? I don't really remember... but since you mention it... ***MEGA** evil Smile*

Hana: *depetrifies* MITO YOUHEI... *reaches out with murderous intent*

Youhei: Ehehehe... I just remembered I have another appointment. Ja! *dashes off before Hana reaches him*

D_K: He's fast, that Youhei.

Hana: *sits on the floor and sulks* Just wait till I get a hold of him, that no-good... *voice trails off*] 

Our redhead reached for Sendoh, an evil gleam in his eyes.

Sendoh, coming out of his self-induced trance, backed away from Sakuragi without a moment to lose. "Down, Sakuragi. I was just... thinking about your problem."

Sendoh sweatdropped as he watched Sakuragi drop the tree branch that the redhead had originally wanted to hit him with. Letting out a relieved sigh after watching the branch drop to the ground, Sendoh said, "it was just that... I couldn't exactly imagine you with a girl problem..."

Oops.

That was definitely NOT the right thing to say, was it?

Definitely not. 

Sendoh sweatdropped as the red head turned to him with a murderous gleam in his eye. "Sa- Sakuragi... Put that down... what I meant was-"

WHAM!

Ouch. 

­­­­

Sendoh grasped his head in his hands, an unsightly bump raising up unceremoniously among the numerous spikes on his head, and one must note that for once, the spikes didn't look so spiky anymore. 

[D_K: Of course! Try spiking your head, then banging it against a stone wall. THEN personally see if the spikes will stand up after that.

Sendoh: I resent that.

D_K: But you can't do anything about it, can you?

Sendoh: *Stays quiet* ­­­­­­­­­­­­­¬_¬

D_K: Good! ^_^ I just **LOVE** being an author.]

"Sakuragi... that was unnecessary, you know?" Our now chibi-mode Ryonan Ace rubbed his bump woefully, looking at the said boy with tears in his eyes. "You knew I didn't mean it." Sendoh turned on his hush-puppy eyes to full power.

"Hmph," was the redhead's reply. He was too annoyed to care.

"But really," all signs of pretence were now gone from Sendoh's face. "I have to ask you this."

"What-?" Sakuragi was thrown off guard by the quick switch in Sendoh's mood.

"How do you feel about her?"

"I- I-" Sakuragi became momentarily tongue-tied.

"What did you feel like doing? When she first asked you, that is." Sendoh's eyes bored holes into Sakuragi. For once, Sakuragi felt as if Sendoh was mind-reading him.

"I-" Sakuragi's shoulders slumped. "I-" He hesitated, swallowed, and then continued. "I wanted to accept her proposal." He admitted, fatigue showing.

"Why?"

"I- I thought I could make Haruko-chan jealous and- and-"

"..."

"I told myself that Fujii-san would help me forget Haruko-chan..." Sakuragi appeared to be gaining confidence. "And then I... and then I..."

"Then?"

Sakuragi released the pent-up breath he had been holding all this while. "And then I told myself... 'It's not fair to Fujii-san, it's not.' She would always be second-best... in my heart... to Haruko-chan... and I... knowing how being forever second-best felt like... I couldn't do that to her." He stopped, then continued quickly. "She hasn't done anything to deserve that. Nobody deserves that sort of treatment. She deserves so much more... so much more than what... than what I can offer..."

Sendoh smiled. "I'm glad."

"Why?" Sakuragi looked at Sendoh as if the boy had just grown another head. "I've just confessed to you how I wanted to wreck a girl's feelings forever and you say 'I'm glad'?"

"I'm glad..." Sendoh paused, phrasing his words in a way that would be non-offensive to the redhead. "...not because you thought of all the wrong things. Heck, anyone would, being in your sorta situation. Hell, even I would," he added, "if I were the one facing this, and not you."

"So what's your point?"

"I'm glad because you didn't do it, even though you were, most admittedly, tempted to. You stopped yourself and gave yourself time to think about this, and did not jump to a spur-of-the-moment decision and that," he gave Sakuragi a meaningful look, "is worth more than anything in this whole damned world." 

Sakuragi stared at Sendoh...

...Raised his hand to Sendoh's forehead...

... And checked for the boy's temperature.

Sendoh sweatdropped. "What are you trying to do?"

"Checking for a fever." Sakuragi measured the smiley's body temp against his own. 

[D_K: Yaoi thoughts, anyone?

Sendoh, Hana: **Don't** even **think** about it.

D_K: Sue me.]

"None?!" His astonishment showed. "Then you **must** be an extraterrestrial. The real Sendoh Akira would **never** say such profound things... It's simply not him!" Sakuragi promptly dashed behind a bush.

Sendoh face-faulted. "Sakuragi, I assure you that I'm the authentic Sendoh Akira and that I am hereby perfectly normal."

Sakuragi peered at him. "Are you sure?"

"**YES**!"

"That's good enough for me." Said Sakuragi cheerily as he strolled out from his 'hiding place'.

Sendoh fell to the ground anime-style. Picking himself up in an as-dignified-as-he-could- manage-it manner, he coughed awkwardly, "Well... back to your problem..."

"Yeah." Sakuragi promptly became depressed once more. "You didn't tell me anything I didn't already know... an you didn't offer me any solutions either." He pointed out.

"I can't." Sendoh said. "It's not that I can't offer you any, but I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because you have to make up your own mind in this whether you like it or not." Sendoh said sombrely. "Provided, there is **no** real solution to this anyway."

Sakuragi glared at Sendoh. "Big help you are."

Sendoh sighed. "Look, you're looking for a way out that will not hurt any one of you, right?"

"Yes, so?" 

"There is no such way. It's either you get hurt, through watching Haruko and Yasuda together, or this girl... Fujii-san, right? ...gets hurt. That's all there is to it."

The redhead's face fell. "That the best you can offer me?"

"Well, not exactly."

He brightened. "Well? Out with it!"

Sendoh shook his head lightly, amazed at how helpless the redhead seemed before a simple (for the likes of Sendoh only) problem such as this. "Do what you want to do." He watched as the redhead's face fell again.

"That's easy for you to say." Sakuragi muttered. "You're not the one facing this problem."

"Sakuragi, I'm not asking you to marry her, for god's sake!" Sendoh's patience had finally worn thin.

"But you're not much help either way, aren't you?" Sakuragi shot back.

"..." For once, Sendoh had to admit that the redhead was right.

"Anyway, it's getting late, so..." Sakuragi got up from his swing. "Thanks, anyway."

Sendoh gaped at Sakuragi.

"What?" There was just the **slightest** trace of irritation in the redhead's voice.

"This **must** be a dream." Sendoh pinched his cheek. "Ouch! Thought not." He looked at Sakuragi in pure incredulity. "Did I just hear you say 'Thanks'?"

"Teme! Are you implying that the Tensai has no manners?" Sakuragi swung a fist a Sendoh.

Laughing, Sendoh dodged the blow. "Joking, Sakuragi. Just joking."

"Hmph." Sakuragi turned away, but not before Sendoh saw a trace of a smile beginning. "Well then, Ja, Smiley."

"Ja, Sakuragi. Oyasumi."

"Oyasumi."

Sendoh watched Sakuragi go off a distance before the said redhead turned and yelled, "Oi Sendoh! If your 'advice' helps me out, I'll treat you out for lunch!" 

"I'll hold you to that, Sakuragi!" Sendoh obligingly answered.

Sendoh watched the redhead finally leave the confines of the park. "I wish you the best of luck, Sakuragi," he smiled bitterly. "Seeing that my own advice has not helped me in the least."

[D_K: How's that for suspense? Yaoi implications all over the place... well... not really, but the end of the flashback is enough for people to ask questions.

Sendoh: I. Am. Not. Gay.

Hana: So. Am. I.

Sendoh, Hana: *advances on D_K with murderous looks on their faces*

D_K: I know. ^_^ That's why it's so fun to make you guys look gay.

Sendoh, Hana: ¬_¬;;; *backs off... for the moment.*]

^-^o^-^.^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^END OF FLASHBACK^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^.^-^o^-^

Sakuragi now stood in the shady alley between the gym and the school building. (Think the alley where Miyagi and Sakuragi first met each other.)

What was taking Fujii so long?

Fujii came running round the corner, breathing hard. One did not need to be a genius to know that she had run all the way from the third floor of the school building to the appointed meeting place. 

"I'm so sorry I'm late." Said she, gasping between breaths.

Sakuragi felt a prick of conscience. Should he... no, could he go through with this? Knowing that she would be indefinitely hurt later on? 

He prayed that he would not be condemned for what he was going to do... and yet he knew that there was no excuse for what he had **CHOSEN** to do... not from how he saw it anyway.

"Fujii-san..." He felt, rather than saw, the girl stiffen.

[D_K: Scratch the "Sakuragi's POV" all the way thingy. From here on, until the end of this story **at least**, this will be Fujii's POV. I'm so kind to allow her to angst, don't you guys think so too?

Hana: ... Demon in disguise.

Sendoh: Wolf in sheep's skin.

Youhei: No comment.

D_K: *waves gaily* Thanks for your compliments, guys!!

Hana, Sendoh, Youhei: ... ¬_¬]

Fujii lowered her head. 

This was it.

He was going to reject her.

She felt tears start to burn at the back of her eyes.

"..." [D_K: This silence belongs to Sakuragi, if you're wondering.]

Why was he drawing this out? Once he got this over and done with, she could go to the ladies room and sob her heart out.

I can't take anymore of his kindness(?)...

[D_K: Am I reading this right? Did I just type Sakuragi's 'kindness'?

Hana: Teme! The Tensai is always kind!

D_K: ... ¬_¬

Hana: What? Why are you looking at me like that?

D_K: Self-Praise = International Disgrace.

Hana: But it's better than having no praise!

D_K: That come-back sounds familiar... when, or who, did you learn that from?

Hana: From Seraph. She taught me this in case I needed a handy come-back about my consistent self-praise.

D_K: Figures. Did she also enhance your extremely limited vocabulary as well?

Hana: Of course! She said something about having to do GP, or something like that, anyway.

D_K: I definitely have to speak to her when she gets back...]

"Let's give this 'us' a try."

Fujii looked up in shock.

^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^ **T. B. C.** ^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^

**Author's Notes:** I know the ending is clichéd but I can't help it. Crappy chapters deserve similarly crappy endings, don't you think so? I seriously feel that this is crappy... and not up  to my demonic standards... Not. In. The. Least. 

Flame me. I'd love that. Makes me wanna read all the 'fan' mail and blast them later. And oh, did I tell you I'd be the one writing the next few chapters? I wonder if I can add more bits of angst? Now... wouldn't that be fun? *snickers*

Oh yes, Wowie-chan, Seraph left a message for you **LONG** before she expired (though regretfully, only temporarily). It's way down there... Of course, you can't expect me not to add bits and pieces of my own... can you? ***EVIL** smirk*

Anyway, see you guys soon... very, very soon...****

^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^


	4. Act 1, Scene 4

Title: Loving You Author: Seraph_Kirin Pairing/s: HanaFujii, brief mentions of YasuHaru, RuHana???, SenHana??? Rating: PG Status: On-Going Genre: Multi-Chaptered Chapter: 4/? Email: seraph_kirin@hotmail.com Disclaimers: All disclaimers apply. Archive: None. It'll be posted on fanfiction.net and fandomination.net though so if you want it, you can take it for your site. Just tell me first okay? (although I seriously doubt that anyone would take this anyway...)  
  
Author's Notes: This is in answer to Wowie's fic request. Please note that this story contains a great deal of sugar... and angst, now that I think about it... People who are strongly allergic to sugar and bitterness contrasting so "dramatically" are advised to keep away from this fic.  
  
Short synopsis: Hanamichi says 'Yes' to Fujii.  
  
Therefore, so, ladies and gentlemen, on with the fic!  
  
Legend... If you have read the previous chapters, you should remember... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Act 1, Scene 4 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------  
  
^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^  
  
"Have you ever wondered which one hurts more: saying (doing) something and wishing you had not, or saying (doing) nothing and wishing you had?" -Unknown  
  
^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^  
  
One week later...  
  
Sakuragi lay on his back at the grassy area behind his classroom with Youhei.  
  
"So... you agreed to go out with her?"  
  
"Uh huh." Sakuragi stared up at the sky, pondering... god knows what.  
  
"..." Youhei sighed and turned on his side to look at his friend. "You could sound just a LITTLE more enthusiastic, y'know?"  
  
"Hm."  
  
"..." Youhei gave up. Hanamichi, for some reason, was not reactive to his probing.  
  
Truth to tell, he WAS a little curious about why Hanamichi changed his mind in such a short period of time but knowing his friend's character...  
  
Youhei snuck a look at the oblivious redhead and sighed once more.  
  
...It definitely wasn't going to be easy dragging that tale outta him.  
  
Footsteps sounded on the concrete pathway to the area where Sakuragi and his Gundam usually hung out. The steps went silent somewhere near them, as if the person was looking for some one, then it started again and soon closed in on the corner and rounded the corner to reveal...  
  
... Fujii.  
  
"Sakuragi-kun?" Fujii was still shy of Sakuragi's Gundam even though she now knew that they were not as fearsome as the rumours proclaimed them to be.  
  
"Hai?" Sakuragi sat up. "Fujii-san?"  
  
"Sakuragi-kun, I..." She flushed a deep red.  
  
Youhei noted the colour briefly and knew that Fujii was going to take off soon if no action was taken, on Sakuragi's part that is.  
  
"Fujii-san, is something the matter?" Sakuragi smiled at her, willing her NOT to bolt like a frightened child.  
  
Then he noted that she appeared very unwillingly to bring her hands forward, as if she was holding something that she was debating inwardly to give him or not. "What have you got there?"  
  
"..." Fujii went a deeper red than what was possible on most humans. She brought out the thing that she had kept hidden up till now most reluctantly and held it out. "I... I... I made a bento box for you this morning and... and..."  
  
Flushing even redder (if that was probable, given the shade her face already was), she pushed the bento box into Sakuragi's hands and ran off, obviously assuming in some part of her mind that werewolves (or the like) were after her. Running round the corner, she bumped into the rest of the Sakuragi Gundam.  
  
"Isn't this Fujii-san?" Takamiya caught her, preventing her fall. "Daijobu?"  
  
"Don't you want to eat with us?" Ookusu invited.  
  
Fujii waved their well-meaning concerns off. "Arigatou... but I really have to go. Ja!"  
  
The three Gundam members watched her run off, looked at each other and shook their heads simultaneously. Then they turned and continued on their merry way to the spot, carrying their precious loads of food.  
  
The first thing they saw when they turned the corner was a certain Hanamichi fingering a bento box. They looked at each other, at Hanamichi and back again and they... grinned.  
  
"Sakuragi..." Anozumi said, still grinning.  
  
"What have we here?" Ookusu stared at the bento box in Sakuragi's hands.  
  
"Let's celebrate!" Takamiya took out the dust-covered party things and threw a few to the other two who were already starting to dance inanely.  
  
"Guys... GUYS!" Youhei cast a worried look at Sakuragi, for fear that the redhead might flare up and bestow upon them his infamous head butts. His fears were unfounded, as the red head was studying the bento box as if it were the most fascinating thing on Earth.  
  
"... Hanamichi?"  
  
Aware that they were in no mortal danger, the three jokers of the Gundam started towards the red head with grins that revealed their ill intentions...  
  
...Only to be stopped by Youhei, who shook his head, warning them off the unpredictable re head.  
  
Realising that they were not wanted here, and seeing that Youhei wanted to speak to Hanamichi privately, the Gundam hesitated, looked at each other, and decided to retreat, for the moment. They disappeared around the corner of the building in a thrice.  
  
Youhei walked to that same corner and peeked around it, his experience with the Gundam having taught him that double-checking whether those three were gone COMPLETELY absolutely did not hurt in the least.  
  
And right he was in doing so, because once he rounded the corner, he found the three stooges hiding themselves *just* behind it.  
  
"Ehehehe..." Three sheepish faces looked up at Youhei's glowering face. "You caught us..."  
  
"The way back to the classroom is that-a-way." Youhei pointed down the said path.  
  
The three stooges got up, stumbling over each other to get away. "Ehehehe... see you two in class, ne?"  
  
"GOODBYE." Youhei waited for the sounds of their retreating footfalls to fade completely before heading back to where Sakuragi was.  
  
"...Hanamichi? Youhei sat down beside the redhead.  
  
"..." Sakuragi continued fingering the bento box, slowly running his fingertips over the smooth edges of the said box.  
  
Youhei's patience was at an end.  
  
He was just about to grab the redhead's collar to shake what was bothering him so much out of him when the red head finally spoke up.  
  
"Did you see her hands?"  
  
"Her hands?" Youhei stopped in mid-grab. Sakuragi's words had caught him off guard.  
  
"Yes, her HANDS." Sakuragi emphasized the last word.  
  
Youhei sank back down onto the grass and thought back to the hesitation filled scene a mere 5 minutes ago. "...No, why? Is anything wrong with them?"  
  
Hanamichi looked up, meeting the eyes of his bemused friend for the first time that day. "... They were bandaged."  
  
Youhei started. "Oh."  
  
He watched Hanamichi lower his head once more. "Oh."  
  
Sakuragi set the bento down, his agitation showing. "I shouldn't be doing this to her. I should walk right up to her now and just-"  
  
"Hanamichi." Youhei laid a calming hand on his friend's arm. "Calm down."  
  
"Calm down?!" Sakuragi barked a short, sarcastic laugh. "Ha! I AM calm. There's no other person in the world that is calmer than I am right now. Hell, I can even-"  
  
"Hanamichi." This time, Youhei's voice was laced with a subtle force, deliberately pressing for the red head's attention.  
  
Sakuragi looked at Youhei. Although he had forced himself to calm down, his inward panic could still be seen.  
  
Hail the person who said the eyes were the windows to one's soul.  
  
Youhei met Sakuragi's eyes unflinchingly. "You CANNOT just do that to her. You're already in this too deep."  
  
Sakuragi shook his head in frustration, lacing his fingers through his hair. "I KNOW! You think I don't? Every time she does something nice for me- " He glared at the bento box lying innocuously on the grass. "-Like THAT for an instance, I just can't help but-"  
  
"You chose this path the moment you said 'Yes' to her." Youhei interrupted ruthlessly.  
  
He wasn't here to listen to Hanamichi bitch to him about his feelings.  
  
Hell, Hanamichi might be intimidating but in the end, the world doesn't just revolve around him.  
  
Hanamichi has had many home truths waiting in line for him for a VERY long time... and now was a good time as any to finally speak to him about it.  
  
"Hanamichi, you're just being selfish." Youhei rushed on, heedless of the red head who chose to freeze at that moment. "At the end of the day, you're just being a hypocrite. You say that you would never 'go out' with Fujii - look where you are now. You say you don't want to hurt her - Hell, from the moment you told her 'Yes', you'd already started the process to getting her hurt by you just so you can salvage your own pride and ego. You have a lot of consideration for her feelings, that I admit, but that isn't enough. It would never be enough. You, of all people, should know that."  
  
Youhei, finally finishing what he had wanted to say, stopped to take a deep breath. "And you-"  
  
"Enough."  
  
Youhei stopped in mid-sentence, his mouth gaping open at the sudden close to his one-sided conversation.  
  
"Enough..."  
  
Youhei sighed, and patted the back of his forlorn friend, who now had buried his face on his knees like a child.  
  
Silence reigned between the two friends.  
  
"... Youhei."  
  
"Ah?"  
  
"If it were you... what would you do?"  
  
"..."  
  
"TELL me."  
  
"...Hanamichi." Youhei forced the redhead's head up. "Look at me."  
  
"..."  
  
"LOOK AT ME, DAMN IT!"  
  
Sakuragi looked up, defiance etched clearly in his eyes.  
  
Youhei looked at his friend with something akin to sympathy. "Hanamichi, I Am Not You. I cannot make your decisions for you. You've gotta learn to live with your decisions, whether they are the right choices to choose or not. And no, "Youhei added, frowning at the said red head. "Puppy eyes don't work either. You should know that I was never a sucker for puppy eyes."  
  
Sakuragi pushed away Youhei's hands, resigned. "I know." Inhale. Exhale. "I know." He fiddled with his thumbs. "Sendoh told me almost the exact same thing."  
  
Youhei's ears pricked up. "Sendoh?"  
  
Sakuragi nodded. "Sendoh. As in Sendoh Akira of Ryonan High."  
  
"I knew it." Youhei muttered. "I just KNEW that SOMETHING must've happened to make you change your mind so quickly about Fujii."  
  
"I happened to bump into him near the old park near my house, after we parted ways."  
  
"When did this happen?"  
  
Sakuragi shrugged. "On the day Fujii confessed to me?"  
  
"So what's he got to do with Fujii?"  
  
"I talked to him about it." Pause. "He was VERY HELPFUL."  
  
Sakuragi's sarcasm did not go unnoticed. Youhei raised an eyebrow, indicating his disbelief. "And that talk... totally changed your mind about Fujii?"  
  
"Shaddup." Sakuragi was not in the best of moods.  
  
"Seriously, if you didn't want this to happen in the first place, why DID you choose to make it happen?"  
  
Hanamichi could not bring himself to answer that seemingly simple question. His reasons had been too despicable for himself to speak of even now. How he wished that the ground would just open and swallow him up, leaving no trace of him upon this earth and thereby, solving all his problems for him.  
  
"Nothing to say, eh?" Youhei arched an eyebrow.  
  
"..."  
  
"Lemme guess then..." Youhei assumed the "Thinking Man" pose. "... Because... you wanted to get Haruko jealous over you and Fujii?"  
  
Bingo!  
  
Youhei was undoubtedly the person who knew Hanamichi best.  
  
Hanamichi growled and threw a punch in Youhei's direction.  
  
Youhei, having anticipated the move, deflected the blow easily and, in the blink of an eye, scooted as far away as he could get from the red head.  
  
Hanamichi would've continued in pursuing Youhei... if the bell signalling the end of lunch break had not chosen to go at that moment.  
  
"Come on..." Youhei smiled slightly. "We gotta go back to class."  
  
"Ah."  
  
"Y'know something?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"You sound more like Rukawa day by day."  
  
"NANDA?!"  
  
" 'S true. You've even gotten your own one-liners now!"  
  
"Youhei! Take that back!"  
  
"You just didn't realize, did' ya? How many times you've used one-liners during our little chat?"  
  
"I said TAKE THAT BACK!"  
  
^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^  
  
And so the squabbling voices of the two boys faded away as they left for their classrooms.  
  
However, I regret to say that we cannot follow them, at least not at the moment.  
  
For as careful as Youhei was... for as discreet as Youhei was... he was not perfect. Moreover, being the imperfect human that he was, he left out something that was intensely important.  
  
Someone else now knew of Hanamichi's secret.  
  
That someone had been rudely awoken from his sleep, at one of his favorite spots in school for sleeping, by one of his most 'hated' enemies.  
  
Now that someone peers through the bushes that enclosed the spot where Hanamichi and Youhei had sat just a few minutes ago. He sighs at the loss of his 'beauty' sleep, gets up and brushes off the stray pieces of leaves and freshly cut grass.  
  
"Do'aho."  
  
^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^ T. B. C. ^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^  
  
Author's Notes: This is Seraph here. I have finally reclaimed my fic... and added Rukawa to the picture too! It looks like we will have a little yaoi in this story after all...  
  
I apologise for the trouble that Devil caused the last time she wrote for me... Believe me, NEVER AGAIN. Remind me of that if I EVER have the urge to ask her to write another fic for me.  
  
Also, I apologise for the badly written fic. I seriously am considering a permanent career at the SDBC as an editor, after I finish all the series that I haven't gotten around to finishing... I feel that my editing skills are more sophisticated than my story-writing skills... _  
  
In any case, it does seem as though I am received with gladness... given that Devil has tortured the characters of this fic at least once... I was besieged by three chibis the moment I entered my 'home sweet home' once more...  
  
Hana-chan, Sen-chan, You-chan: Seraph! You're back! YOU'RE FINALLY BACK! *glomp* Seraph: ^_^;;; Why are y'all so glad to see me? The last I heard of you guys was Hana trying to voodoo me or something... Sen-chan: That was THEN- Hana-chan: Now is NOW- You-chan: And BOY, are we GLAD to see you back. Seraph: @_@ Why? I thought you'd be glad to be rid of me... Hana-chan, Sen-chan, You-chan: *DEATH glare at Seraph* Promise us you'll never leave your fic in Devil's hands again... EVER! Seraph: ^_^;; Why not? What'd she do? Hana-chan: *melodramatically* Don't ask! It's too painful to tell. Sen-chan: She made Hana hit me on the head, see? *shows bump gotten from fic in previous chapter* You-chan: She didn't let me appear in the last chappie... Hana-chan: *wails* She made me look stupid... Sen-chan: *starts wailing as well* She wants us to participate in a lemon... Seraph: 0_o Are you sure? Sen-chan: Ask You-chan! He heard her snickering about it! You-chan: She did too! And she said she was going to make it a 3some too! *shudders* Seraph: _* DEVIL~! JUST WAIT TIL YOU GET HOME!  
  
^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^.^-^o^-^.^-^ 


	5. Act 1, Scene 5

**Title:** Loving You

**Author:** Seraph/Devil_Kirin

**Pairing/s:** HanaFujii, YasuHaru, SenHana?, RuHana?

**Rating:** PG-13

**Status:** On-Going

**Genre:** Multi-Chaptered

**Chapter:** 6/?

**Email:** seraph_kirin@hotmail.com

**Disclaimers:** All Disclaimers Apply. 

**Archive:** SDBC, Fanfiction.net and Fandomination.net... that's about it I think.

**Author's Notes:** I'm becoming more depressed by the day... This fic is going nowhere fast. Thanks people, for kindly taking the time to read and review my fic... *sighz* I really should consider retirement...

**Short synopsis:** Ru-chan found out about Hana-chan's "little" problem with his "girlfriend"... What will Ru-chan do? Will Sen-chan come into the picture?

And so, ladies and gentlemen, on with the fic!

________________________________________________________________________

**Act One, Scene Five**

________________________________________________________________________

**********

The gods too, are fond of a joke. _- Anonymous_

**********

"Pass!"

Sakuragi caught the ball that was thrown in his direction. He turned, knowing that there was no one near the basketball post to guard him.

With a smooth, practiced stride, he ran towards it, picking up enough momentum for a lay-up shot.

The ball went in.

Ayako blew the whistle. "Time Up!"

The members of the team stood around the court, tired out by their practice.

Sakuragi remained standing at the place where he'd landed after that last shot, breathing heavily, sweat rolling off him.

"Hanamichi, good shot!" Miyagi praised. "Looks like all your hard work paid off!"

"It better," Mitsui warned, an amused gleam in his eye. "After all the hard work I put into coaching you, it should have some sorta result."

Sakuragi remained silent. He had not even looked up when the two had approached him, neither had he replied with his usual "Ore Wa Tensai Sakuragi!" that they were all so familiar with.

He was, for once, blessedly silent.

Miyagi and Mitsui exchanged glances at each other. Somehow, they did not seem to be surprised by the red head's out-of-character lacklustre.

In fact, from the glances they exchanged, one might say that they even anticipated it.

Obviously, they knew a lot more than the red head let on.

Sakuragi lifted his head up towards the place where the manageress' of the team stood. 

Fujii was, once more, absent.

He frowned slightly, his chest heaving. [**Why isn't she here?**]

"Gather around here, Minna!" Ayako called out, slapping her infamous fan against her thigh lightly. "Anzai-Sensei has something to announce!"

Sakuragi walked towards the congregating members of the team, his face sombre. 

Anzai-sensei smiled broadly. "I have something to tell you..."

**********

Oh joy.

They had another basketball camp coming up.

Well, it was not as if he had anything else to do but to do as what Anzai-sensei proposed was... madness.

Rukawa frowned inwardly as he prodded slowly into the locker room. It wasn't that he was totally against the idea and what it would do.

It was just that...

*****FLASHBACK*****

"We will be having a practice camp with together Ryonan, Shoyo and Kainan."

Silence.

"WHAT?!"

"Why are we having a camp with them?"

"You're not joking, are you?"

"..."

A ruckus was promptly raised to unimaginable heights as the players squabbled with each other over the conduciveness of such a plan.

"**QUIET!**" This came from Ayako.

Anzai-sensei smiled. It was good to see them so lively still, even after the tortuous training that they had been subjected to.

Ayako continued where Anzai-sensei let off. "This will not be an ordinary camp."

She held up her hand, holding back the tsunami of questions that she knew was coming. "**JUST WAIT TILL I FINISH, WILL YOU?**"

The players wisely shut up.

One angry Ayako meant a probable 20 - 50 rounds around the court.

And they definitely didn't want that, not after that nightmarish torture Ayako called "training."

"Now, listen up. Instead of the normal training that we do, this time all the five starting players teams will be spilt up into four teams - HOLD IT!" She glared at the team.

The players who were itching to ask questions immediately clamped their hands over their mouths. Those who were bursting with questions were guarded by those who had better control over their mouths.

Ayako gave a sigh of irritation. "As I said, the teams will be spilt up into four teams from A to D. The teams are posted up on the board. Go check it when you have the time to. **PREFERABLY**," she emphasized, glowering pointedly at a select few, "before this weekend."

Those said select few  met her patent DEATH™ glare innocently, managing to look like guilty puppies caught in the act (except for Rukawa; he never bothers anyway).

Ayako growled and wrung her hands, rolling her eyes in the process as she turned her back on the players. [**God, why do I bother?**]

"Oi, Hanamichi!"

Sakuragi looked up. "Ryochin." Then he saw the boy beside him. "Mitchy."

Not bad. He even managed a smile for their benefit.

"..." The two boys looked at him.

Sakuragi felt slightly uncomfortable. It was as if they were trying to read his mind.

He shifted slightly, uneasy.

Finally, Mitsui spoke up. "Let's go check the board."

"Ah." Sakuragi let the breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

For one ridiculous moment, he felt grateful to whatever powers above that had granted his small wish.

Of course, he didn't know that being the open book he was, Mitsui and Miyagi had read his uneasiness and unwillingness to confide in them, for the moment, that is. 

They were concerned nevertheless. 

They had been concerned for a week now.

Dense as they were, they had managed to connect Fujii's sudden disappearance from the team with Sakuragi's restlessness. 

Even though they had received an explanation from the girl the next day after her first absence that, because she had been chosen for the school committee, she would be unable to join the team with its practices as much as she would like to, they had noted that Sakuragi appeared uneasy at Fujii's absence from the team.

You could say that they deliberately kept the reason why Fujii was absent from Sakuragi because they wanted to find out what was troubling the guy.

But they hadn't had much luck so far.

Sakuragi was proving himself to be a hard nut to crack. Heck, he could be even harder to force than Rukawa to spill his guts out.

Of course, one might note that the two's penchant for laughing at Hanamichi hadn't helped matters a bit.

Stepping up to the said board, Sakuragi ran his eyes down the list of names.

[**Team A... nope. Not there.**] He noted that Ryonan's Koshino Hiroaki was there though, together with Mitsui.

[**Team B... Oh, what's this? Miyagi with Fukuda and Jin...**]

[**Team C... Grrr... Kiyota Nobunaga... Stupid Wild Monkey... Rukawa Kaede... Damned Kitsune with Wild Monkey... That should be fun.**] Sakuragi stifled a snicker. 

After all, the said Kitsune was also probably cursing his luck as well, however stoic he might appear on the outside.

[**Team D is... Sendoh Akira... Hentai smiley...**] Sakuragi smiled slightly, remembering their short encounter in that park. He shook his head slightly and read the next name. [**Sakuragi Hanamichi... Oh here I am-What?!**] 

His eyes widened and he checked the list again. [**Team D. Sendoh Akira. Sakuragi Hanamichi. Yadda, yadda, yadda.**]

He felt his heart sink to his feet. 

Nope. 

His eyes hadn't deceived him.

He was in the same team as with the guy he 'christened' "Smiley".

[**Damn.**] Sakuragi groaned. [**Can things possibly get any worse than this?**]

He was so caught up with his own misery that he did not notice another who stood beside him, a barely controlled fury rising up inside of him as he read the names of Team D over and over again.

[**Sendoh.**]

*****END OF FLASHBACK*****

Rukawa's frown deepened.

He wanted so much to believe that the Hentai had planned all this before hand.

Unfortunately, he knew this was not true. 

The names had been picked out at random, and there was, theoretically, and even when one took the time to consider the odds at random, practically so little chance that Hentai would strike gold.

But he did.

And the worst thing was, Lady Luck appeared to be on his side.

Rukawa cursed his bad luck inwardly.

He stared at his reflection on the mirror across him. [K'sou...]

His eyes darkened with visible emotion as he visualised the Hentai with the Do'ahou.

He clenched his fist, an ugly grimace making its way onto his face, disfiguring the handsome features.

[F*** you, Sendoh.]

Rukawa threw the ball he'd held in one hand all this while against the blameless mirror.

[I won't give him up without a fight!]

With that, Rukawa picked up his duffel bag and stalked out of the gym.

TBC...

**********

**Author's Notes:** I know that this isn't very good... but it sorta builds up the suspense, ne? ^_^;; 

**Sen-chan:** *claps hands* Goodie! I get to appear in the next chappie!

**Ru-chan:** *growls*

**Hana-chan:** Ne, Seraph-san...

**Seraph:** ^_____^ Hai, Hana-chan?

**Hana-chan:** *puppy eye mode* Can we just skip the yaoi thing and just go into the HanaFujii thing?

**Seraph:** As much as I want to... No.

**Hana-chan:** Why not?

**Seraph:** Anou... bcoz Wowie wants some yaoi in her story?

**Sen-chan:** ^_^ Does that mean we get a chance at Hana-chan?

**Seraph:** *nods*

**Ru-chan:** And if I win? *leans forward eagerly* Do I get to keep him?

**Seraph:** ^_^;;; No. 

**Ru-chan:** Why not? 

**Seraph:** Bcoz this is a strictly non-yaoi fic with some yaoi elements.

**Sen-chan:** ^_^ You could put Miyagi-san and Ayako-san together... *looks hopefully at Seraph*

**Seraph:** No can do. ^_^;;; 

**Sen, Ru-chan:** Why not?

**Seraph:** Bcoz I say so. And I want to sleep now, it's 1 am in the morning already. 

**Sen Ru, Hana-chan:** Aw~~~ _

**Seraph:** Come on, be good boys and tell my reviewers what I taught you, ne?

**Sen, Ru, Hana-chan:** *chorus* A HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE AND MAY ALL YOUR WISHES FOR THE YEAR COME TRUE!!!!

Anyway, R & R, people! Have A VERY HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!!! For all Chinese in the Babble, remember to collect as many red packets as you can, ne? Gambatte People! 


End file.
